At Baby Champuru’s last well baby check-up in January, I got the tsk-tsk from the doctor in regards to her still drinking from a bottle. She had been struggling with constipation since the last time I tried to get her off the bottle while switching from infant formula to whole milk at the same time. She has been taking a low dose of Miralax daily to help her stay regular. The doctor mentioned that transitioning her to a cup will help resolve her constipation. He said that babies who drink from a bottle tend to drink more milk than those who use a cup — and to make matters worse, milk tends to be constipating. Babies who drink less milk will tend to eat more solids, and hopefully more fiber (fruits and vegetables) which also help keep the bowels moving in the right direction. Our next visit to the doctor is at 18 months and I promised myself that I would have Baby Champuru off the bottle before then. I didn’t want another lecture from the doc.
We have been trying to get Baby Champuru to accept the cup for over half a year now. She simply would not drink more than a few sips from the cup and then would flatly refuse to drink anything that was not served up in a bottle. We bought cups of every style imaginable: soft spout (Nuby), hard spout (Playtex), flat hard spout (Dr. Brown’s), bottle-to-sippy conversion kit (Avent), toddler travel cups with straw (Munchkin), disposable cup and straw, and open cup. We had minimal success with the open cup, but it was terribly messy and she would always try to snatch it from us and the water would end up everywhere except in her mouth.
The doctor recommended going cold turkey with the bottle to cup transition. I actually tried that at around 13 months and she ended up going on a liquid strike, giving her the worst bout of constipation ever. So, I caved in and gave her back the bottle. Yes, I’m a wuss, but I couldn’t stand to see her suffering: passing rock hard stools or none at all, constantly straining to push, and eventually, it became so painful that she ended up straining to hold it in to avoid the discomfort of having a bowel movement.
I decided to try the cold turkey method again since this time we had the Miralax to keep her regular. This time, we decided to offer her diluted apple juice in the cup. She took to it almost immediately. However, whenever I gave her milk in the cup, she would take one sip, discover that it was milk and vehemently refuse it as if I was trying to feed her something toxic. We ended up spoon-feeding her milk, just to get the taste in her mouth, then switch to the open cup — but that would work for only about an ounce at the most. A far cry from the 24-32 oz. of milk she had been drinking from a bottle previously.
The first couple of days, she would sign the word “milk” and be upset that we would not give it to her in the bottle. While we were out and she signed the word “milk,” I told her that we didn’t have any milk with us and that she could have some when we got home. I offered her the cup with diluted juice and she seemed happy enough with that. This is nothing short of a minor miracle. The bottle had been her source of comfort and calm, especially when she was tired. I was amazed that she accepted the cup just as readily in those situations.
After the third day, she didn’t seem as interested in milk and was happy enough to get her milk fix via our 3x day nursing sessions (morning, afternoon, and evening).
It’s been 5 days since she has had a bottle and she has been well-hydrated with water and diluted juice. On the positive side, she has been regular without the aid of Miralax. (I’m thankful for this since I was uncomfortable keeping her on a drug for something that I felt should have been manageable with diet alone.) On the other hand, I am unhappy that she has stopped drinking milk. Although, I feel somewhat better knowing that she’s still nursing and getting some benefit from that. I’m also supplementing her diet with other calcium-rich foods such as cheese and yogurt to compensate.
The transition from bottle to cup wasn’t as traumatic as our battle at 13 months. At nearly 16 months, I suppose she was a little more ready to give up the bottle. As for weaning her from the breast, hopefully that won’t take another 5 years.
Questions for you parents: At what age did you transition your baby from bottle to cup? And when did your baby wean from the breast? Are you a proponent of extended breastfeeding? If so, how long did you continue nursing until you weaned your baby? I appreciate your comments!
